Private Cars Could Soon Get Charged for Entering and Leaving Boston Logan Airport

According to The Boston Globe, the airport is contemplating charging drivers for picking up and dropping off passengers in private cars at terminals in an attempt to cut down on pollution. These types of fees have already been implemented in airports in the U.K.

At the moment, the airport is only studying the impact of the change, as part of an agreement between the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Conservation Law Foundation.

In exchange, the environmental group will not oppose the agency's $250-million plan to add 5,000 parking spaces at Logan, according to USA Today.

Massachusetts Port Authority says that more than 20,000 cars per day pull up to Logan's terminals to either drop someone off or pick someone up. The airport has added 15,000 flights since 2015, and 20,000 cars enter Logan daily, according to Business Traveller.

“The rationale is to encourage more and more people to use high occupancy vehicles and public transportation. It also has the effect of raising revenue for airports. I think those two rationales will overcome resistance to charging people for pick-up and drop-off,” Ray Mundy, director of the Center of Transportation Studies at the University of Missouri St. Louis told Business Traveller.

However, most travelers will be none too pleased with the change. “From a passenger point of view, it’s one more system of nickel-and-diming,” Charlie Leocha, founder of the advocacy group Travellers United said.